Hey Everyone!

Hey guys!
My name is Noel Rozum, and I am the new VISTA in the Service Learning Department here at Coe. I am really excited to be working here this year because service is one of the things that I am the most passionate about. I have done a lot of volunteer work in my young adult years. I have spent more than 100 hours volunteering at a rural Iowa nursing home. I love working with the elderly! I have also spent many summer hours gutting flooded homes in the downtown Cedar Rapids area. I love organic farming and have been apart of a local community garden. This is a great way to get to know your neighbors and to be a part of the local food movement.

Besides volunteering, some of my other passions are leadership development and public speaking. I have been a student and volunteer staff member of regional leadership schools. My favorite part of these particular experiences was helping to facilitate organizational and interpersonal communication groups. From these experiences I learned about the power of teamwork. It is amazing to me how much you can get accomplished when you work as a team, especially when you are working on issues that are in dire need of community Voice.

I also like to spend time with my friends and family. Relationship are very important to me. I spend a good deal of time playing with my cat Momodu. He loves people, so come play with him sometime! I also love to read and usually have several books open at one time. I love being outdoors on hiking and camping trips.

I am a recent graduate of Coe. I majored in Religious Studies and hope to go to grad school next year for Social Work. I would like to be a counselor and would love to work with refugees. I see this next year, serving as a VISTA, to be great chance to develop myself personally and professionally. I am excited about all of the people I will get to meet and work with. As always, I am super pumped about this wonderful chance to do something good for our Cedar Rapid's community.

So, now you know a little bit about me! I can't wait to get to know all of you. I look forward to being apart of Team Service Learning!

Noel Rozum 

Vernon Inn for Gyros and Spanakopita

If you are looking for a new place to eat in Cedar Rapids you should definitely check out Vernon Inn.  If you are like myself, and LOVE Greek food than you will certainly enjoy this restaurant.  However, if you are little apprehensive about trying something new, don't be.  Vernon Inn also serves traditional American items such as chicken fingers and french fries, but I would suggest the traditional lamb and chicken gyro.  And for all you vegetarians out there, the spanakopita (spinach and feta pie) is superb.  Be sure to top it off with a tasty chunk of Baklava.  Vernon Inn is located at 2663 Mount Vernon Road Southeast.  If you're still not convinced, check out their menu at
http://vernoninn.com/menu.php

Crystal

Foundation 2 food pantry

As we all know, especially us college kids, food is a vital part of life.  We need it to obvisiously survive but also to make a movie night a TRUE movie night. However, for those less fortunate having access to food has become an ever growing struggle.  As the price of food and other products continue to go up and the state is suffering from budget cuts, families in the greater Cedar Rapids area are struggling to make ends meet.  For years this has been occuring, but within the past five years the crisis has grown even more and places such as Cedar Rapids greatly depend on donations and volutneers to help run the food pantries.  I myself am one of those volunteers that have devoted countless hours to Foundation 2 food pantry, why?  Because I know I am making a difference, oh and I LOVE it.

I started volutneering at Foundation a little over a year ago and have enjoyed every minute of it.  The pantry is located practically right across Coe, a five minute walk tops.  The food pantry is the only on in the area that is open after hours, to allow those that are at work all day, to come in and get food for their family.  I have been asked many times by people "Why a food pantry?  How much can it help?"  I always say, have you ever gone without food for more than a few days?  Some of the clients that come in to receive food go days without food, their kids are lucky to get breakfast and lunch.  The economy has truly taken a hit on those who are less fortunate.  As a food pantry based off mainly donations and HACAP (Hawkeye Area Community Action Program) orders,  we rely on volunteer help and food drives to help maintain our supply of food. 

Being a Marion native, about 7 minutes from Cedar Rapids, I was sadly not as informed as I should have been about the issues that are plaguing the Cedar Rapids area.  Since I started volutneering at Foundation 2, I have become much more educated about the area and the resources that are out there for really anyone to utilize (fun fact, Cedar Rapids is one of the best equiped cities in Eastern Iowa with social programs that aim to provide assistance to those that need it).  Having educated myself through my experience I have also met some amazing people, people who have been through so much and can still walk in smiling saying it can only get better.  Since volunteering here, I have helped people who have told me their life stories, cried, voiced their anger, been embarrased about coming, and those that have hugged me as they are walking about the door.  One story that sticks with me to this day, is when I served a family of six.  Two parents and four children.  Both the parents had just lost their jobs and were struggling to find another, they had used what they could of their savings and had finally resorted to using some of Cedar Rapids resources.  I spent about 20 minutes with them total, listening to what was going on and getting their food ready for them. They had a little boy, around the age of 3 who followed me around and helped me.  He made a copy of their sheet, put some food in their bags, and helped carry bags out.  When we were going through the cupboards grabbing the food I give to all clients, he took a can of green beans and asked if he could have them, because they did not have the money to buy them anymore.  Of course I gave them to him and he gave me a high five saying "yesssss."  I thought I was in a movie, did this little boy just get excited about a can of green beans.  A can of green beans that at his age I probably would have ate with reluctance.  That moment truly made me love volunteering at the food pantry, it made me feel that I am making a difference.

Volutneering at Foundation 2 has opened so many doors for me since I have been here, job opportunities have come along (which I am now employed through Foundation 2), scholarship applications have appeared in my mail box, and the chance to see the process of grant writing has popped up, and so much more.  Volunteering has benefitted so many people but it has also had its rewards for the volunteers.

Jenna

Eat at Zoey's!!

Zoey's Pizza is by far the best pizza in the area! Zoey's is located in Marion. The pizzeria is locally owned and the restaurant is a family friendly and the staff is extremely personable. The pizza is incredible. There is a variety of crusts to choose from and some very unique topping combinations. I reccomend canadian bacon and sauerkraut. YUM!! Grab a glass bottle of Coke and enjoy this pizza-you won't regret it!
-Sarah

You've been served! Alternative Spring Break Trip to Atlanta, GA

Alternative Spring Break trip to Atlanta, Georgia

March 5-12, 2011

Our journey from Coe to Atlanta started bright and early at 8 in the morning.  Our first day of driving took us all the way to Nashville, where we stopped for the night.  We ate at the famous Nashville Palace, and the locals there taught us how to line dance!  We spent over two hours on the dance floor, showing off our mad skills.  It was the perfect bonding experience to kick off our week of service.

The road to Atlanta was gorgeous:  there were waterfalls, misty hills, and a lot of cow herds to see.  However, we were glad to reach the city on Sunday afternoon.  Right away when we arrived, we explored the headquarters of the CNN empire and got to take a tour, which included seeing a live broadcast.  For dinner, we went to Daddy D's, which proved that you can't judge a book (or barbeque joint) by its cover.  Though the outside looked sketchy, the food inside was absolutely delicious.

We got to St. Mark's Church around 8:30 and unloaded our things.  We met David and Megan, the coordinators of DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection).  They gave us an outline of our week and helped us settle in.  We also met the choir; they welcomed us with a special rendition of "Seasons of Love".  Talk about southern hospitality.

Our first day of service in Atlanta was wonderful!  We split up into three groups and dispersed to conquer the city.  The first group went to work on a CSA farm, which grew vegetables in a low-income neighborhood.  The supervisor there was Farmer Tim, who had "the most epic beard ever."  The second group worked with Catholic Charities handing out basic supplies to needy families, and then switched midday to Books for Africa to package donated books to send to kids in Africa.  My group worked with a program called Decatour Cooperative Ministries.  We cleaned up a transitional house by scrubbing down the walls, blinds, and floors.  During the lunch break our supervisor, Sue, explained how they help about 800 families a year with housing.  It really hit me when she told us that without our help the family wouldn't be able to move in for another month.

My group went to Calvin Court, an assisted living residency, on the second day.  We served over 80 residents a Mardi Gras breakfast.  Then we visited the fitness center and eventually wound up in a small computer lab to  teach residents basic computer skills.  A different group went to a coffee shop and helped out there.  It was an interesting project because their goal wasn't to directly serve people, but to decorate and stock a shop that needed extra hands.  The last group went to the transitional house and started painting the walls.

Over the entire week, Coe's three groups managed to serve a wide variety of programs.  One group worked with HouseProud to paint a woman's house, as she didn't have the ability and resources to maintain her home by herself.  Another group went to Medshare and packaged up medical supplies to send to needy countries.  One group even went to a shelter to serve lunch.  It was an interesting place:  instead of serving the food cafeteria-style, they brought the plates to the tables and waited on them. 

Our trip wasn't all work and no play:  we often got an hour or two of free time in the afternoon or evenings to explore the city.   Besides the CNN tour, we took a tour of the Atlanta Underground and the shopping district inside.  We also found some interesting little shops and a lot of good restaurants.  Since Mandi's birthday was that week, we celebrated by seeing how much free food and gifts she could get.  The grand total was somewhere over 8 - that's a lot of desserts.

We even frequented a couple of famous buildings and historical sites.  On Wednesday, we took the afternoon off and visited the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr.  There was a tour of his boyhood home and a museum to honor all those who fought for civil rights.  It was really inspiring for us and relevant to our own trip and experience, because we were in Atlanta to help raise people above their current living conditions.  We weren't fighting racism like MLK, but we were fighting poverty.

Every night after dinner, we all sat in a circle for reflection.  David and Megan led the discussion.  The first night's theme seemed to be "the face of homelessness" - how anyone can become homeless through extreme circumstances.   Another common theme that week was the impact of different types of service.  We discussed how some volunteer work is like a band-aid:  it helps patch the problem, but is only a temporary relief, like giving spare change to the homeless people on the street.  Other projects go deeper and impact people for a lot longer, such as preparing the house for a family or growing food on a community farm.  Finally, we talked about what our future plans for service were, and how we would take our experience back to Cedar Rapids to share and motivate others.

The ride back was pretty uneventful, but we did stop in St. Louis, Missouri, for the St. Patrick's Day parade.  It was a festive, fun day.  We finally arrived at Coe on Saturday night exhausted, but elated.  We accomplished a lot in our brief stay in Atlanta.  DOOR allowed us to experience a wide variety of service projects.  I think we all learned something about different cultures, patience, and what service to others meant to us.  I personally had a blast, and I can't wait until the next service trip!

Hannah

Have fun at Garnett

In my opinion, there is no greater feeling than when you know you have made a difference in someone’s life.  Being a part of the Coe College Office of Service Learning and Campus Engagement often provides an opportunity for me to feel that way, especially when I’m working at Garnett Place
Retirement Community.  I have had the privilege of working with Garnett for the past two years, and I must say it has been one of the most enjoyable experiences. Everyone at Garnett is so great!  The
residents are so nice, and playing Bingo with them is a bundle of fun.  There is never a dull moment!  One of the Bingo ladies carries around a joke book and tells random jokes to anyone who will listen.  She is the most shy, quiet lady and she comes up with the best jokes.  Another lady always sits at the head table until Bingo starts, and she does crosswords.  Every time we call B6 while playing, she says, “I don’t want to be sick.” The staff are very nice as well, and they are very helpful whenever you
need something.  This semester, we are trying to get more involved with Garnett, so we have set up some extra activities.  On different afternoons and evenings, you can enjoy playing different games like farkle, yahtzee, and wheel of fortune.  One of the residents even made up his own game called hand pool.  Some of the residents were having trouble holding pool sticks, so the man came up with a
game like pool only played with your hands.  We are also trying to set up times for volunteers to go and perform either a song or musical instrument for the resident.  Garnett is definitely a great place to volunteer.  There are so many opportunities to connect with the residents and have a great time!

Kindergartners + Valentines

Reading Buddies this semester has already been a hoot.  On our first day back, we reunited with our awesome, gosh darn cute Kindergartners of Mrs. Raue's class.  Can we just say that not a thing has changed?  (It's a good thing, trust me).  There's a saying that kids are the most honest people you will ever meet.  Last week, I noticed two kindergartners, we will call them Ellie and Jack, following each other around the class room.  I could not figure out what was going on between those two.  They followed each other while we sang songs, they followed each other during dance time, and they followed each other when it was time to sit in body basics for a story.  I went to sit next to Ellie during body basics, when long a behold, Jack came over.  I think when Jack saw me sitting cross-legged (which brought back memories of my own days in elementary school) on the floor, I think he saw that as an invitation to sit on my lap.  I told him that I thought everyone had to sit in body basics, and he scurried off to sit next to Ellie.  The next thing I know, Ellie turns around to me, gives me a huge smile and says "Jack and I love each other very much!", and wraps her arms around him.  I look at Jack, and a small, but warm smile appears on his face.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that we have just seen puppy love!

Seeing this reminded me why I love coming back to Reading Buddies.  There is never a dull moment with these kids, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  They teach us so many things, and us them.  That day, I learned that sometimes, it's okay to be an Ellie or a Jack, and just share how you feel.  Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  I also learned that Kindergartners are the true romantics.